Custom and Bespoke Design Motor Controllers for Stepper, Brushless DC and DC Motors

No More Compromises ...

Welcome to the world of custom / bespoke / tailored motor controllers. Motor controllers that deliver exactly what you need them to do at a price and setup that meets your requirements perfectly. 

The world of custom motor controllers is not necessarily a world of highly complex electronics and highly technical challenges (although it sometimes can be) – it is exactly what the word custom suggests – a controller that is customised to the exact requirements of your project or application. It might be that size, weight or communication protocol is critical to you. It might be that you need a controller that can fit in a tight or unusually shaped space, be mounted in an unusual position or work in a difficult environment. All of these issues would make a good reason for a custom design project.

What our customers think*

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Controller Performance
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Controller Reliability

Designed, Tested, Manufactured and Delivered from the UK

We’re proud to design and manufacture all of our controllers in the UK and the same goes for all bespoke projects that we carry out. All design work will be carried out in the UK and all designs are assembled and/or manufactured in the UK to ensure the best possible quality and the best possible lead times.

This process also enables us to directly control all aspects of the design and assembly process from initial concept to production and to deal with any quick changes that are required.

Full Transparency as the Project Develops

We will keep in regular contact with you as the project develops and work hard to provide information on the project as it develops. This can include pictures or videos of proof of concept boards working or key test data as it happens. 

As part of this commitment we have recently developed an online portal to enable you to directly track the project’s progress via our internal project management software. We won’t open the full project up to you as this can be incredibly detailed and very specific but the portal will enable you to keep track on the project’s development and monitor the key dates and expected deliverables. We understand that when you’re committing a significant amount of time and potential financial resources you want to be able to keep track of it 24/7 and with this method you are able to do just that.

We'll Work with you Right from the Off

Any bespoke or custom design motor controller project starts with the initial idea or requirement. Shaping this and developing it into a technical and commercial specification that delivers what you need is an inherent part of the process. That’s why we’re happy to work with you on developing this stage of the plan right at the outset. 

If you have an idea that you’re looking to develop we will work with you on the specification, provide advice and the benefit of our design experience where relevant and discuss all available options with you before embarking on any design work. We can often provide samples or use a stock range to experiment with ideas at the start which can be a good way of shaping or informing the specification. 

About Us and Our Approach

Rigorous project and quality management ensure a clear route to success

We understand that delivering successful design projects in this area is not just about electronic design ability and engineering expertise. It’s also about ensuring a clear specification, practical and well structured project schedule and implementing a rigorous quality management process throughout the project lifecycle. 

Our seven stage project and quality management plan is outlined in a little more detail and, as we mentioned above, we will keep you up to date on the project as it develops.

How does it work and how long will it take?

Stage 1 – Getting the Specification Right

We’ll work with you to understand what you need, how you need it to work and what standards or other factors need to be taken into account with the design. We’ll develop an exhaustive specification based on our standard templates and will use this process to prompt any potentially important or useful additions.



Stage 2 – Project Costings and Indicative Volume Pricing

Once everyone is happy with the specification we will then work on this to develop a costed proposal and also work up some indicative pricing on what the controller is likely to cost at the required volumes. If this pricing is an issue then we can always review and look at potential changes to reduce this. 

Stage 3 – the Proof of Concept design.

The proof of concept design will be a quick ‘rough and ready’ board that can be used to test out all key features to ensure they work.

Stage 3 is the first stage where we require financial commitment to get the project moving. Prior to this we understand that it’s important for you to get an idea of where the costs are likely to be.

Stage 4 – the Proof of Concept Assembled

We will then assemble the proof of concept board to enable us to test this out and ensure that it meets your requirements. We will normally send this across to you for you to test yourself or alternatively we can plan a site visit to run through this with you.

Stage 5 – The Production Design

Once the proof of concept design has been approved we will then move onto the production design. This will be the final version of the design so this will be designed to any of the physical specifications that were included at the start of the process (the proof of concept may not meet all of these factors if they were particularly stringent but this will be discussed at the time of going ahead).

Stage 6 – The Production Controllers

At this stage we will assemble the production controllers, assuming that they have met the QM check required to do so. These will the be tested in a more rigorous way than the proof of concept ones and will be delivered to your site for comprehensive testing. It is common at this stage to run through a few variations of firmware which can be used to optimise performance. 

Stage 7 – The Design is now Completed

The Production Controller and associated firmware are all formally approved by all parties.

Following this stage the project is now formally signed off and all parties are happy with the project. Following this, the boards can then be ordered as required. 

A Proven Track Record of Success - Selected Case Studies of Custom Designed Motor Controllers

A major advantage of working with Zikodrive over other custom design electronics companies is that we have an extensive database of existing designs to work from. This example shows how quick changes can be made to deliver the performance you need at low cost.

Find out more about how quick changes to exisitng designs can get you up and running fast.

A small, low powered sinusoidal brushless DC controller designed to an exacting physical and technical specification.

To find out more about this sinusoidal brushless DC controller please click here.

This controller was based around a high current sensorless brushless DC (BLDC) motor controller with a range of additional safety features, data logging and solenoid control.

To find out more about this powerful brushless DC motor controller please click here.

Explore the development of the iD Driver – an intelligent stepper motor controller for Boxer Pumps.

Click here to find out more about the development process and design work behind the iD Stepper Driver.

A brushed DC actuator driver which was developed for an automotive application including current sensing, four quadrant (4Q) design and more.

Click here to learn more about the way in which the driver was developed and the challenges undertaken along the way.

The development of a brushed DC motor controller for high end turntables was a fascinating project.

Explore how we developed the driver and customer interface here.

Why Choose Zikodrive for your Bespoke Designed Motor Controller?

Interested? Get in Touch with us to Start the Ball Rolling on your Custom Motor Controller Design Project

*Scores taken from a customer satisfaction survey carried out by Zikodrive in September 2018.